To Save One More Life, Rescue One More Soul
by LornaTheLoop
Summary: This is the story of Danica. She is no ordinary girl, she is a witch. But, she is no ordinary witch. Did you ever wonder what was behind the locked door in the Department of Mysteries? Set in OOTP
1. Chapter 1

Dumbledore walked purposefully towards the fancy oak door in front of him, with a plaque that read "Cornelius Fudge- Minister of Magic." He could hear voices inside, one of which was distinctly recognisable as Fudge's. He knocked and the voices halted suddenly. There were footsteps and the door opened to unveil the toad-like face of Dolores Umbridge.

"Ah, Dumbledore, yes, yes," came Fudge's voice from behind his handsome desk, "I'm sorry, Dolores can we talk about this later, perhaps, I forgot about my appointment with Dumbledore, here."

"Of course, Cornelius." Umbridge replied in an overly sweet voice before walking out of the room.

"You know why I am here, Cornelius." Dumbledore said as soon as she was out of earshot.

"Yes, yes of course I do, Dumbledore," Fudge wasn't meeting Dumbledore's eyes and was instead shuffling and straightening pieces of paper of his desk, "and I simply cannot allow it, it is totally out of the question."

"We have had this conversation several times before." Dumbledore started in an almost weary tone, "This is an eleven year old girl we are talking about, she does not belong…"

"She does belong there, Dumbledore and you know it!" Cornelius interrupted, his face turning red. "She is a danger to herself and others, take her parents for example!"

"You know she is doing a lot better than she was, what happened to her parents was an unfortunate accident brought on by their ignorance of magic." Dumbledore said calmly, in voice with a kind of finality in it that made Fudge sure that this matter was out of his hands. "I have come to take her to Hogwarts."

"V-very well, very well," Fudge agreed finally, "but if anyone at all is injured or hurt at her hands it is right back into the Department of Mysteries."

"I am glad we are agreed." Dumbledore replied, smiling slightly.

* * *

Ten minutes later Dumbledore was being lead to the door that marked the entrance to the Department of Mysteries by two "Unspeakables".

"Remember Dumbledore, you're not to tell any other witch or wizard what you might see in here." The first warned him, he was a stoney faced, serious man.

They went through the door at the end of the corridor and they came out into a circular room with many doors set into the wall. As soon as the door was closed the walls started to spin fast, making it impossible for anyone to find what door they'd come in through. But the stoney faced Unspeakable walked straight forward and drew his wand. He unlocked the door and there was a metallic click and it opened.

It was a tiny grey room with a bed that took up the whole of the right hand side of the wall and opposite it there was a round table with two chairs, both wooden and hard looking. The only source of light was a small candle, yet it was bright as day, there was no window either. The bed covers were grey and the walls were grey and the robes of the young girl sitting on the bed were also grey.

There was silence for a moment, the girl was still, as if nothing hand interrupted her thoughts. Her hair was the lightest blonde, almost white and reached her waist, it was sleek and straight. Her eyes, which were resolutely staring at a point on the white floor, were pale silver.

"Abbey Tay…" Dumbledore began, but as he said it, the girl had brought her hands up to her ears, and was looking horrified, as if he had insulted her, her silver eyes looking straight into Dumbledore's blue ones.

"No, no, no." She was saying under her breath.

The second unspeakable, a round faced man who had only been out of Hogwarts for a few years, leaned towards Dumbledore and whispered in his ear.

"She doesn't like to be known as the name her parents gave her," he explained, "she renamed herself to Danica, no surname, just Danica."

"Well, we must respect her decisions." Dumbledore smiled. "Danica, would you like to know why I am here?"

Danica stopped muttering and lowered her hands from her ears. Her eyes were as innocent and round as the full moon as she opened her mouth and said quietly.

"Are you here to take me away from this place?"

"I am." Dumbledore replied, still smiling at her as if she was a granddaughter he was particularly found of.

Danica smiled.

* * *

Okay, well, I have a really good feeling about this fanfic, I expect it's going to be long and I hope those of you who have read this chapter find it good so far. I promise you, it is going to get exciting!


	2. Chapter 2

Danica sat on the Hogwarts Express, staring, emotionless out of the window. Though her face did not betray anything she was feeling, Danica was happier than she had ever been in her entire life.

She had long learned that no one cares how she feels, not her parents, not the Ministry, no one. So she kept them hidden, far beneath the surface of her pale face. But, the emotions still existed. She now felt happiness that for some reason, Danica didn't feel she deserved. She never believed she would be allowed to go to Hogwarts; she didn't have much control over her magic due to her terrible past.

There was a knock on the door and a small, brown haired boy entered the room. Danica recognised him as her nurse's son. Her nurse, Joyce was the only person Danica ever showed any compassion towards. She was a slightly plump woman with brown hair in soft ringlets around her face. She had cared for Danica since she was seven and her son, Noah was the same age as Danica, he person her own age she had ever met and she smiled vaguely when she saw it was him.

Noah smiled back at Danica, he was quite a shy boy and was slightly intimidated by Danica but he considered her to be a friend. And, although she had never told Noah, the one hour of playtime they got to spend with each other once a month were some of the happiest moments in Danica's confinement. It was depressing sitting in that tiny little room with her only company being a thirty year old nurse and the occasional "unspeakable" coming in to check and take note on her progress.

The unspeakables treated her like dirt, with fear, as if she were a bomb about to explode.

"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, can you?" Noah asked, timidly making a stab at conversation.

"No, I can't wait either. I still can't believe I'm getting to go in the first place." Danica said, still with a blank expression on her face, but Noah was used to it.

"I hope we're in the same house, it would be good to have a friend already." Noah said, sounding slightly nervous.

"Yes, that would be good." Danica agreed, looking out of the window again, fascinated by the vastness of the world beyond it, "Look at the hills Noah, aren't they beautiful?"

Noah followed her gaze, smiling. It was this that made him friends with Danica, her ability to find the beauty in things and people that truly deserve it. The hills were light by a dull grey light emanating from the sun's rays that were desperately trying to force their way through a thick canopy of rain clouds. It wasn't the nicest day to be viewing the magnificent Scottish countryside. Noah would bring Danica postcards and magazine clippings bearing pictures of stunning landscapes but she had never seen anything first hand.

"Yes," Noah breathed, "very beautiful."

They spent the rest of the train journey looking through some muggle nature magazines, the kind which Danica collected, gazing at the places with avid interest, discussing where they would like to go the most.

The train eventually came to a halt and they followed a witch to the edge of a lake. All the first years climbed into boats, Noah and Danica sat beside two girls, one which had long black hair and the other had red hair down to her shoulders. They began whispering with their heads together when they saw Danica, perhaps rumours of her past had spread around the other pupils.

Danica was obsessed with natural landscapes and usually saw castles has a bit of an eyesore on scenes, but even she was extremely impressed when Hogwarts castle came into view. It had towers that seemed to stretch up forever and several windows had flickering lights, reflecting on the rippling water of the lack.

There was a yell of "heads down!" from the witch that was leading them, and they all ducked as the boats slid smoothly under a cliff, a curtain of ivy gently hit their faces as they sailed through. They reached a tiny harbour of sorts and climbed awkwardly out of the boats. The witch knocked on the castle door, which was answered by a stern-looking witch.

She was wearing robes of emerald green and her black hair was tied in a tight knot at the back of her head.

"Thanks Wilhelmina, I can take them from here." The stern witch said to the witch that had lead them across the lake.

"Right Minerva." She replied kindly and walked swiftly out of sight.

The stern witch lead them out into a vast Entrance Hall, where they could hear the excited chatter of hundreds of pupils from a doorway to their right.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." The stern-witch said, not unkindly. "My name is Professor McGonagall…"

She explained about the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw and how they would be sorted into one of them shortly.

Danica wasn't particularly bothered about what house she was in, but she did want to be in the same as Noah.

They were lead into the Great Hall and instructed to sit on a tiny stool in front of the entire school and the Sorting Hat, which was much too big for all of the first year pupils, was placed on their head and it would shout out the name a house.

Professor McGonagall called out names in alphabetical order by surname; which meant Danica would probably be last, having no surname.

"Donnellan, Noah"

Danica, who had been paying no attention up until this point watched as the hat was placed on Noah's head, he was so tiny his feet didn't touch the ground.

The Sorting hat waited about thirty seconds before yelling "Gryffindor!" and Noah scurried off in the direction of the table where people were clapping the loudest.

Ten minutes later Danica was the only person left unsorted.

"Danica." Professor McGonagall said.

She walked up and sat on the stool and saw briefly that several people had begun muttering.

Suddenly there was a voice in her ear. "Ah, I see trauma in your past, terrible, terrible. So strong, a lot of willpower, bravery, kindness, yet you seem to hide all this, you don't show your emotions, now, miss."

"Why should I when no one cares?" Danica whispered, her eyes now closed.

"Oh really, no one caring, I think you should open your eyes again, my dear, someone very near cares about you a lot, and therefore I choose Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat yelled the final word and Danica walked off in the direction of the Gryffindor table, noticing that the applause was quite thin.

She sat next to Noah, contemplating what they Sorting Hat had said, not noticing the plates filling around her. Noah stayed quiet, knowing that Danica did not want to be disturbed just now.

"I heard she's totally insane." A carrying whisper from the Slytherin table registered in Danica's mind.

"My father told me she killed her parents." Another said.

"Hasn't she been locked up in the Ministry of Magic?"

"She's dangerous; she shouldn't be in school mixing with us, normal people."

_Calm, Danica, don't lose your head here, not now. They're not worth it. _She thought to herself.

Okay, sorry it's been a while since the first chapter, I hope this was good! I think you'll find out more about Danica in the next chapter! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Danica had never been anywhere so large, so ornate, so beautiful.

Ever since she was six she had been confined to tiny rooms, people locking her away because they believed her to be dangerous. Perhaps there was truth in that, though.

Danica walked through the moon-lit corridors remembering her first week at Hogwarts. There was so much she wasn't used to, things that the other pupils took for granted, like freedom to do and go where she wanted at weekends and evenings. Yet she soon found that that freedom could easily be ripped from under her feet, and her second day back had shown her that.

She walked into Defence Against the Dark Arts for the first time that day with Noah at her side. They took seats near the front and took out their books and wands. They had enjoyed doing magic in every class so yesterday, but Professor Umbridge, seated behind her desk, her lips pulled up in an overly-sweet smile instructed them to put their wands away.

Danica hoped that it might have just been her imagination, but it seemed that Umbridge shot her a contemptuous look before ploughing on with a well-rehearsed speech on the new "non-magic approach" to the subject. Danica could see a flaw in this approach, however, how would they know how to do the spell if you can't practice it? She stayed quiet, however; she did not feel like getting on any teacher's bad side on only her second day.

But a tall boy in the back of the class with a mess of blonde hair on his thin face tentatively raised his hands, "But, Professor, how can we learn spells without doing them?"

Umbridge's sweet smile turned slightly sour, but her voice was even sweeter when she spoke again, "Because, Mr-"

"Hargrave." The blonde boy interrupted.

"Yes, Mr Hargrave, if you pay close attention, read thoroughly and learn the theory absolutely you will be able to perform the spells." Umbridge continued.

The two girls that were in her and Noah's boat on the lake sat right behind Danica. They had both been sorted into Gryffindor and shared a dormitory with her. Danica hated them, they never talked to her but she hears them muttering about her, like they are now.

"I bet it's because _she_ can't be trusted to do magic." The black haired one, whose name was Fabrietta, whispered to the red haired girl, Gail.

"I know, I bet she can't even do proper magic…" Gail began, but was quickly interrupted by Fabrietta.

"Yeah, she probably just waves her wand around like a monkey until magic happens; I mean that Hargrave told me she's been locked up for years."

"And I heard she killed…" Gail muttered again, before being interrupted yet again, her round, freckly face betraying a hint of annoyance.

"And something happened to her parents… I don't know what, but apparently they're dead, and she had something to do with it." Fabrietta mumbled, her pale fingers running through her long, silky hair.

Danica sat in her seat, trying to remain calm. She had been trying hard all day yesterday when she had to endure their mutters, and she felt as if her control was beginning to fail.

Then Umbridge, who it seemed to have not heard Fabrietta and Gail's whispered conversation and had carried on her speech, looked suddenly at Danica.

"I am sure that there are a few in here who are almost unworthy to teach and who have no control at all over their magic." She paused to let the words sink in, her smile increased as she saw that Danica was now so enraged that she was soon going to lose control, "And any of you that I deem to be _dangerous _and a nuisance or menace in this class shall be sent to the Minister."

Danica knew this had been aimed entirely at her, but she might have been able to endure it if it weren't for the mutterings of the class after Umbridge was finished. Insults, sneers, rumours and accusations were flying around the room and that's when Danica's restrain broke like an elastic band stretched too far.

She screamed, Noah turned round in time to see a bright yellow light erupt from Danica, it seemed to be coming from her own body. Umbridge cast some spell quickly, as if she had been prepared for this, Noah sighed with relief, thinking that she stopped it, but she hadn't she was just protecting herself and the other pupils.

Danica's arms were raised to shoulder height as she continued to shriek, suddenly, with a violent bang the light burst and there were several screams from around the room. Next thing Noah knew he was flying through the air, landing painfully on the ground, hitting his head. Danica flew in the other direction, falling to the ground too, but unconscious. Umbridge and the other pupils were completely unharmed.

Noah tried to stand up, to go and help Danica, but his head was spinning. That's when the door burst open and Dumbledore entered, looking slightly angrier than usual, yet he still took them calmly to the hospital wing, which wiped the satisfied smirk off Umbridge's face.

And soon she was walking through the moonlight corridors in the early hours of Saturday morning, waiting for the sun to rise. When it did she found Noah and together they walked out into the cool grounds and sat beside a huge tree beside the lake. The morning was breezy, but warm and as a cloud shifted over-head revealing the sun Danica spoke.

"I'm sorry about hurting you." She said, calmly.

"It's fine, I'm fine, it doesn't matter." Noah replied, throwing a rock into the lake.

"I just want you to know, I'm not that dangerous all the time." She muttered, tearing up blades of grass beneath her, "It's not my fault I'm dangerous at all." She added, bitterly.

Noah looked at her, finally finding the bravery to ask, "What happened to you?"

Danica looked back at him. "My parents." She said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, "They were horrible, horrible people. They wouldn't let me out and it drove me insane."

Though she said it calmly, although with an angry edge to her usually dull voice, her face was screwed up as if these memories caused her pain and Noah got the impression that he had not heard the full story, yet he did not press for more.

"And it wasn't my fault. Not my fault, an accident… I didn't mean... their deaths… I don't remember how…"

She seemed to be unable to go on, Noah put his arm around her, trying to calm her down. It didn't take long, however.

"But I'm glad they're gone. I never want to see them again. They mean nothing to me. That's why I changed my name; I want nothing to do with them." She spat, looking angry now.

Noah quickly pointed out the way the sun was reflecting the forest in the lake, distorting the green trees among the water rippling slightly in the breeze, distracting Danica from her anger, bringing her back to the goodness of this new life that had begun.

* * *

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, I quite liked writing it, didn't take me too long for once, I'm normally up half the night XD Anyway, please review and tell me if you spot any mistakes!


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